Count on the Faker for vampire cred

October 26, 2010|By Heidi Stevens, Tribune Newspapers

Turns out that "Twilight" book your niece was reading a few years back wasn't a passing fad. Turns out, in fact, you're horrible at predicting what our culture will glom onto. ("Reality TV?" you may have uttered once. "Flash in the pan.")

Now the Faker isn't suggesting you go buy the boxed set of "Twilight" books or fill your Netflix queue with the first three seasons of "True Blood." But in the spirit of Halloween, she suggests you find a way to fake some blood-sucking knowledge.

Andrew Kraft, director of "True Twilight: A Glee Club Musical," a musical parody of all things vampire, with a little "Glee" thrown in for good measure, was kind enough to lend his knowledge to the cause. Here goes.

How to pull it off

1 Know your "Twilight." Vampire mania did not begin with the 2005 book, but it certainly breathed new life into the genre. "Twilight" brought the vampire craze to a new generation," Kraft says. There are four books in the "Twilight" series that center around a teenage girl named Bella Swan who falls in love with a cute guy who, wouldn't ya know it, happens to be a 109-year-old vampire. The books have all been adapted into three movies so far, with a fourth ("Breaking Dawn Part 1") set to be released in 2011 and a fifth ("Breaking Dawn Part 2") expected in 2012.

2 Don't be a hater. You'll gain no vampire cred by claiming to not care for, say, the third book in the "Twilight" series. "If there is one thing I've learned from doing this parody show it is how dedicated the Twilight fans are," Kraft says. "Sure, people might have a favorite book over the other, but there is an unconditional love factor. So not much dissing to be had."

3 Feast on the eye candy. "True Blood" is an HBO series, so it can get pretty racy. Telepath Sookie Stackhouse (played by Anna Paquin) and vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) are the main characters, and neither is hard on the eyes. "Pick a character you think is hot and you will be able to hold your own," Kraft says. Paquin and Moyer are a real-life couple as well, so you can always grab an Us Weekly if you want to dish about Sookie and Bill in a non-vampire way.

4 Don't forget "Vampire Diaries." The CW series, based on a book series of the same name, is gaining some traction among TV critics and has earned CW some of its biggest audiences. That doesn't mean you have to watch it, of course. Just know that vampire Damon Salvatore is played by Ian Somerhalder, who used to be on "Lost." "Unless you are a tween, 'Vampire Diaries' will probably not come up in conversation," Kraft says. "But if it does, a good distraction is a quick subject change. 'Lost' is always good at sparking up a conversation."

5 Go old school. Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise were vamping it up back when Anna Paquin was that little girl from "The Piano." Toss an "Interview With the Vampire" (1994) reference into casual conversation. Mention Anthony Hopkins' turn in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992). Or, Kraft suggests, declare your undying love for an unlikely fellow. "The Count from 'Sesame Street.' Talk about your obscure vampire."